Mohawk: Some Wear & Tear... Know How to Ski It

Photo: IStock.com
Ski Watch Reporter Anson skied at Mohawk in Connecticut on Wednesday night, March 3. Here's what Anson had to say about his ski night:
Despite the warm weather and the overabundance of rain over the past week, there’s still some decent skiing to be had in Southern New England…even if the conditions take some getting used to.
That was the situation at Mohawk Mountain last night (3/3), where temperatures were inching their way down to the predicted 20s after topping out around 40 during the day. At the base of the mountain, the snow was like soft Venetian ice that was beginning to turn to slush. At the summit, it was a combination of packed wet Venetian ice and loose wet Venetian ice.
The combination of warm spring weather and skier traffic left slopes crisscrossed with deep ruts outlined with loose wet Venetian ice. Those could be intimidating, making even advanced skiers concerned about getting caught up in one. The situation was most pronounced on upper Mohawk, a top-to-bottom blue, where ruts and piles of wet Venetian ice were in abundance. Diamond Timber had a similar situation at the top of the trail.
As the wet snow firmed up, it made for fast skiing … almost out-of-control fast … and those ruts and snow piles discouraged slow braking wide turns. Rather, the safest course of action seemed to be the weight-un-weight mini-turns. The most carveable slope was Pine, a green, which had the fewest ruts and snow piles. On other slopes like Mohawk, Arrow Head, a blue, and Timber that had them in greater quantities, it was full steam ahead using those mini-turns to brake.
Nonetheless, once you got used to the conditions, you could have a good time skiing…as I did. Was it worth the drive up from the Bridgeport area? Definitely! Would I make the trip again to experience those conditions? Most definitely! It was much better than one would expect at this time of year in the wake of the weather we’ve had over the past week.
There are several noteworthy events coming up at Mohawk. On Saturday, March, 6, at 9:30 a.m., there will be a Firefighters' Race down the mountain, featuring firemen in full turnout gear. There will be a barbecue available for all. The proceeds will go to the MDA Helping Gerry's Kids.
On Saturday, March 13, it will be Mohawk Madness day. The fun begins at 10 a.m. and a costume parade begins at noon. Come in costume and get a $10 discount off your lift ticket. There will be fun races, contests, music and prizes.
-Ski Watch Reporter Anson